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Community Corner

Formal Offer: Grossmont Center's PreVue Giving Away Dress to Impress

Also: Goodbye, Tiger! Hewwo, Wabbit!

Formal gowns can cost $100 to thousands. And a good dress can make or break you. Just ask Jennifer Lopez, who became an instant style success with a deeply cut Versace. Or check Bjork, forever tied to an unfortunate swan frock.

Gowns take more significance at pageants, where entrants are judged on their formal entries. Hoping help one lucky lady out, PreVue Formal and Bridal at Grossmont Center is holding a gown give-away  11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 12.  Although the raffle is available to all mall patrons, La Mesa Pageant director Alexandra Kuty called this a great chance for a pageant hopeful to score a free dress valued up to $500.

The give-away will also feature an autograph signing by Miss La Mesa Danamarie McNicholl-Carter and Miss Santee Kimberly Swank. Grossmont Center, which once hosted the pageant in its courtyard, has been sponsoring the event for more than 22 years. While it would be nice for a potential pageant contestant to win the gown, Kuty said, the raffle is open to everyone. “We want people to stop at Grossmont Center,” she said.

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Kuty said contestants are fortunate to be able to buy gowns locally at PreVue. When she ran in her pageants, she had to drive up to Los Angeles for her dresses. “PreVue is a great store,” she said. “They have so many contemporary dresses.”

Even better, Kuty said PreVue has an “exclusive dress policy,” which ensures no one will have the horror of enduring a “Who wore it better?” debate. PreVue keeps a list of everyone buying a dress for specific events so that no one else attending the same event can buy the same dress.

Find out what's happening in La Mesa-Mount Helixwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

HOPPY NEW YEAR!: Today marks the first day of Chinese New Year. Last year was the year of the Tiger—ironically not a great year for Tiger Woods—which is traditionally full of ferocity. This year, thankfully, is the year of the much more placid Rabbit. Calmness, peace and serenity are often associated with Rabbit years.

If you’re in the mood to celebrate this changing of the guard, wear red—the traditional color of good luck in China—and pay a visit to any of the local Chinese restaurants, like Chin’s, Wong’s Golden Palace, or even Chang’s Express at Grossmont Center. The only bummer is none of them are actually doing anything special to commemorate the New Year.

Nevertheless, you can impress your Chinese host or hostess with a happy “Kung Hee Fat Choy!” which translates into “Happy New Year!”

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